


Under Your Spell

by casey270



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Tommy Ratliff (Musician)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-04
Updated: 2011-10-04
Packaged: 2017-10-24 07:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/260731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casey270/pseuds/casey270
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a series of interconnected drabbles written for the <a href="http://glam-100.livejournal.com/">Glam 100 community</a>.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Under Your Spell

**Author's Note:**

> a series of interconnected drabbles written for the [Glam 100 community](http://glam-100.livejournal.com/).

1

Tommy read the story again.

 _Body found floating in Bayou._

 _Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found floating in the bayou this afternoon, authorities said.  
A couple walking their dog spotted the man's body floating in the bayou underneath the bridge shortly after noon and alerted a city worker, who then called police.  
At this time, there do not appear to be any apparent signs of foul play. An autopsy will determine the man's identity and exact cause of death._

Fuck signs of foul play. They were there. They knew the real story.

2

  
It started the way everything starts: too much alcohol, too little time out in the real world. They’d already gone through too many cities without being able to see them. There was no fucking way they were gonna pass up the opportunity to go out and party in the French Quarter, though. Nobody wanted to miss New Orleans and the chance to experience Canal Street.

They’d started as a group. Everyone found it hard to resist the pull of the Quarter, apparently, but the others had all gone back to the hotel, until it was just the two of them.

3

  
Adam and Tommy had wandered from bar to bar, looking to soak up more of the local flavor. They’d quickly abandoned the trendier places. The chance of running into fans or someone who might recognize Adam was lessened if they kept to the smaller, darker bars.

Each stop was further off the tourist track, and eventually they ended up sitting in a dank, musty smelling bar that all but the hardest locals would avoid. It was gritty and coarse, but it was real. It was all about realness, after all. Tommy almost giggled thinking about Adam’s sudden compulsion with realness.

4

  
Adam thought it was immensely important to tell Tommy everything he knew about Voodoo and Cajun boys. He’d written about one and fucked the other, after all. Tommy nodded his head, accepting Adam as the ultimate authority. _Too many savory cocktails for both of them_ , Tommy thought, still feeling the burn of the hot sauce from the drink he’d just finished. This was his idea of local flavor perfection.

Just as Adam was getting a little too close to intimate details for Tommy to be comfortable, a patron of the bar approached to set the record straight for them both.

5

  
They were informed that there was a difference between Cajun and Creole, something neither one of them had even thought of before. Voodoo came from the Creole side by way of Haiti.

Their new friend, because when you’re drinking, people get to be your friend pretty quickly, explained to them that Voodoo was an ecstatic religion, a danced religion, a musical religion, and that was all Adam needed to hear. He sat in rapt attention, hanging on the man’s every word.

Tommy tuned the conversation out at the mention of the word religion, turning his full attention back to drinking.

6

  
Tommy was enjoying the warm feeling he was getting from his drink when Adam grabbed his wrist, pulling him to his feet. The stranger, who’s name was Eugene Despre, Adam informed him, had apparently promised to get an authentic Marie Laveau charm for Adam, if he was willing to pay the right price to the right people.

Knowing what the right price was, and who the right people were didn’t seem to be as important to their alcohol fuzzed minds as it probably should have been. This sounded like a real adventure, with all its rich history and dark glory.

7

  
Eugene reminded them to keep quiet as he used the pole to guide the small boat down the bayou. There were things around them that slept lightly, he told them, and Tommy almost laughed out loud at the seriousness in their guide’s voice. He could appreciate how much work had gone into setting up this whole thing for curious tourists, and he was sure Adam would be paying a steep price for this show.

The eerie cries of night birds echoing over the water and the occasional splashes of something larger were enough to keep his laughter in check, though.

8

  
Eugene explained that there was a ceremony that night to try to bring peace to the ti-bon-ange of a local who hadn’t been satisfied with the sacrifices given to it previously, and had therefore not found rest, but had brought bad luck to the parish instead.

Tommy thought a chicken might lose its head, and Adam might lose a little bit of cash in exchange for being entertained and entreated with the privilege of witnessing the ceremony, but that was about as far as his knowledge of voodoo went. However, he was still drunk enough to appreciate the ritualistic pageantry.

9

  
As they’d made their way through the shallow water, a mist had risen from the surface, and it seemed to be perfect stage dressing. While Tommy wondered how they’d managed it, he knew it wasn’t really anything more than a third rate haunted house would be expected to produce.

Adam, however, seemed lost in the atmosphere, twisting and turning in his seat in his attempt to take everything in. This was one of those times that Tommy wanted to wrap Adam up and protect what was left of his friend’s childish wonder. Too much of Adam seemed jaded these days.

10

  
Now there were people in the watter, ready to pull the boat through ever more shallow depths until it rested at the shore line. Tommy marvelled at how well these people were able to stay in character, standing almost trance-like, holding candles to light their way through the water and up a path to a makeshift alter.

Adam must’ve felt the same wonder, too, because Tommy saw Adam’s hand reach out to touch one of these people, but before it could, Eugene grabbed his wrist and held it tightly. Tommy was surprised by the old man’s snakelike speed and power.

11

  
Using one hand to place a finger to his lips in a reminder to keep quiet, while the other hand still encircled Adam’s wrist, Eugene led them up the path, through the ever growing number of people surrounding them, and Tommy had no choice but to follow.

There was no fucking way he was gonna let Eugene take Adam away, and ever since Eugene had grabbed his wrist, Adam seemed to have no will of his own. Tommy put his hand on Adam’s shoulder and tried to pull him back, but Adam seemed to only be able to follow Eugene.

12

  
By the time they reached the alter, Tommy saw that it was already covered with trinkets and money, and he was ready to empty his pockets and Adam’s in order to be able to leave. He tried to tell Adam or anyone, really, but he couldn’t make his voice work. He looked at Adam, but Adam wasn’t seeing anything except the priestess who’d stepped out from behind the alter. He was completely fixated on her. Tommy looked at Eugene. The guide tapped his lips once again with his finger, reminding him to be silent, and gave Tommy a knowing smile.

13

  
Tommy knew there was something more, something unknown at work. He couldn’t talk, which he suspected would break the spell Adam seemed to be under, and Adam couldn’t look away from the priestess’ eyes.

All the while, Eugene smirked. Tommy wanted to punch him.

The priestess ran her fingers down Adam’s cheek and said two words, “You’ll do,” and Tommy felt like it was a heralding of the end of the world, or the end of his world, at any rate. Tommy didn’t know what she thought Adam ‘would do’ for, but he had a feeling it wasn’t anything good.

14

  
The priestess took Adam’s hand, leading him to the front of the alter. Tommy wanted to follow, wanted to with every fiber of his being, but Eugene took hold of his arm, and Tommy found he could no longer move.

He stood there, rooted to that small spot, while Eugene whispered in his ear that he was only along for the ride; that he might as well enjoy the show.. Tommy winced as the sour breath ghosted along with the words, and looked into the old guide’s eyes. He saw fires burning in their depths, fires of pain and glee.

15

  
Tommy had no choice, so he stood still and listened to the priestess tell those gathered that Adam would be a suitable sacrifice. He would take the place of her grandson, who’s ti-bon-ange was not satisfied with previous sacrifices and who’s spiritless body still wandered the bayou. Adam’s gros-bon-ange would be released to the cosmos, his body would take the place of the priestess’ grandson’s, living on without its life force, lacking anything that made Adam the unique individual that he was.

Tommy’s skeptical nature kept whispering in his mind that this wasn’t real, but, damn it, it felt real.

16

  
The priestess began to chant, the candle holding crowd following, and Tommy watched in horror as Adam sank to his knees, swaying to the rhythm of the voices. Adam’s face took on a vacant, unseeing look, and Tommy fought to break loose from the hold of whatever spell he was under.

This couldn’t be happening, but it was, and he had to do something to stop it, or he would lose his friend.

Looking inside, Tommy searched his mind for what made Adam special to him, looked for that bright spark that might help him break free from the darkness.

17

  
Tommy saw visions of Adam laughing with friends, always genuine, always honest and real. Tommy saw Adam sitting quietly, listening as one or the other of their group spilled whatever was troubling them. Adam never interrupted, never rushed them. He found a way to give them every part of himself for as long as they needed.

But Tommy knew this wasn’t what he needed to find to break the spell. He had to look deeper, and time was running short. He could already feel less of Adam’s presence, less of his spirit or essence or whatever the fuck it was.

18

  
Pushing deeper, going further, Tommy fought to find that one special thing he knew would save Adam’s life. Tommy felt the collective wills of those around him fighting against his success. He had to stop to gather his strength for what he feared might be one last try to find the elusive answer, and in the middle of centering himself for a final onslaught, he found what he needed.

It started slowly. It started so quietly that he had to listen with his whole heart to hear it over the sound of so many other voices chanting all around him.

19

  
Tommy heard Adam’s voice. He heard that once in a lifetime voice of Adam’s lifted in song. He heard all the emotion, all the life Adam put into the words he sang, and suddenly Tommy knew the answer.

Maybe it was the strength of hearing Adam’s voice inside of him that helped Tommy finally break the spell that kept him still and mute, or maybe it was just finally finding the answer. Whatever it was, Tommy found his voice and shouted to Adam, loud enough to be heard above the other voices. “Sing, Adam. For fuck sake, just sing...please.”

20

  
Tommy saw Adam blink slowly once, and then again. Adam turned his head in Tommy’s direction, and finally seemed to be able to see more than just the priestess standing before him. The crowd of people felt the hypnotic hold breaking, and started to push in closer to Adam, and Tommy feared that it might all be in vain, that having the answer might not be enough.

But then Adam started singing, and everything stopped. Tommy would have laughed with relief, but he knew it wasn’t over yet. The people around them were all waiting to see what would happen.

21

  
Tommy hadn’t heard Adam’s voice like this before. The mist rolling over the water gave it a plaintive sound. The moss hanging from the trees muted any harsh edges. All that remained was a pure emotional outpouring of words that Tommy couldn’t understand. The language Adam was singing felt ancient. Tommy didn’t think Adam understood it any better than he did, but somehow they knew it was right.

Without knowing he was doing it, Tommy found he was chanting beneath Adam’s singing. He felt Adam’s voice pulling the words from him, and looking around, noticed that everyone else did, too.

22

  
They all heard the sounds coming from the woods; first the shuffling gait scraping the underbrush out of the way, then the squelching steps through the muddied ground.

By the time the vegetation parted, allowing the first glimpse of the body of the priestess’ grandson, Tommy was past the point of being startled by the sight. Adam didn’t even break tempo. He just kept singing.

The man who was no longer a man made his way closer to Adam, and Tommy had to fight to keep his place in the chant. This was one spell he didn’t want to break.

25

  
Tommy stood in awe of Adam’s concentration as he sang the undead man closer and closer. Notes were coming out of Adam’s mouth that Tommy was pretty damn sure weren’t humanly possible, but they had the desired effect.

When the man was directly in front of him, Adam’s pitch and tone changed to something ethereal, something Tommy could only think of as celestial. Adam sang with the voice of the angels, and it was enough to appease both the body and the spirit of the poor soul standing in front of him. The offering was enough to give him peace.

26

  
Tommy saw tears flow from eyes in a body that hadn’t drawn a breath in years, and knew they were a testament to the miracle of Adam’s voice.

The old priestess took the hand of her grandson, and they both looked so incredibly weary. Slowly, she led him to the edge of the water, and placed one last kiss on his cold forehead before his body collapsed. Everyone watched as the body floated past, held by the gentle current. Everyone felt the relief of a spirit finally able to rest.

Tommy saw how exhausted Adam looked, then passed out himself.

27

  
By the time Tommy woke up again, the rest of the night and most of the next day had gone by. Waking up in their hotel, he might have dismissed everything as a dream brought on by too much alcohol, but if it was a dream, it was a dream he’d shared with Adam.

Reading the article in the paper seemed to bring too much attention to it, so Tommy quickly stuffed it into the wastebasket before he locked the room. He didn’t think he’d be coming back here. He had enough realness to last the rest of his life.


End file.
